Re: Mad Men

I'm rather disappointed too. It seems that things have dulled down for me since Megan came aboard. Weiner's fascination with her is beyond me and I think his storylines have suffered since she appeared. Most of what I read are criticism of the actress who plays Megan, along with pleas that he axe her. It appears that Weiner ignores it.

This show used to win awards as best drama. It's simply not in that category anymore. In fact, I even wonder if they deserve a nomination at this point. Still, it's one of my favorite shows. I guess out of habit and there aren't that many great shows on tv, so the selection is rather slim.

This season we had all the mystery about Sharon Tate. There were all these clues such as books, movies, clothes, etc. about her, yet it seems to have gone nowhere. I guess it was just a gimmick by Weiner. For such a classy show, that kind of thing is just cheap, IMO. The guy is convinced he is all that, when he's not. MM has many loyal fans. They shouldn't be insulted by an arrogant writer who is way too self indulgent.

Re: Mad Men

I'm actually glad that Matt Weiner has not adjusted the show based on fan feedback all that much. To me, that's the best way to screw a show up. There are a lot of great cable shows that are approached more as long form movies than a traditional TV show. Instead of creating a show, and just seeing where it goes based on audience reaction and how often it gets picked up, writers go into it with a set idea of the beginning, middle and end. They put it on TV because it would last way too long as a movie, but start the show with an idea of when and how they would like for it to end. Since Matt Weiner has said for a few years now that Mad Men would only go for a set number of seasons, I believe he's done that. He's got a vision of the big picture, which we as viewers are not privy to. If he expanded or got rid of characters based on viewer feedback, he would never be able to achieve that big picture vision. Besides, while some viewers may not like a particular character, others may adore the character. So if you put it all up to viewer decisions, how do you make an ultimate decision? I also don't think that Mad Men stopped winning awards because the show has gotten worse. I think it's won less awards because the level of other TV dramas has improved. The tougher the competition, the less likely a show is to win repeatedly. Not to mention that there is all sorts of politics that goes into awards show voting - wanting to be the cool awards show that recognized a show was great first, etc. To me, just about every season of Mad Men has had ups and downs. THere will be a few episodes where it seems like nothing really happens and it's quite boring. Then all the sudden something big happens, and you suddenly realize why all the boring set up was needed.

Re: Mad Men

I hope you're right and that something happens soon. I'll be watching this Sunday and waiting for it to happen.

I don't share your admiration of Weiner though. I think you can improve the show without giving in to the whims of the public. IMO, his perception of Megan is skewed much like that of Peggy and Ted. I won't even touch on his son's role.

Perhaps Weiner has where he is going with this story inside his head. The problem is that the viewer is supposed to care enough to hang in there and give a flip about what happens to the characters.

I've heard there is only one more season. He has his work cut out for him.

Re: Mad Men

Here is my defense of Megan - I have always thought that one of the best things the show has ever done is to show the how and why the women's movement emerged from the 60s. At the start of the show, the "roles" of women were personified in three key characters - Betty, Peggy, and Joan. Betty showed the traditional path for a woman - education is primarily a means to find a husband. Her primary focus was getting married, having babies, and living in suburbia. She had desires to model, but really didn't entertain them too far because she thought the only role that she was supposed to take on was wife and mother. We saw her struggle with a role that she thought she had to have, but really didn't embrace. Peggy wanted to go the route of marriage and motherhood. She seemed to look at a life like Betty's with a bit of envy. But she didn't have a man to marry, so she took on a job in an office because it was what she was supposed to do. She followed the rules laid out for her. She really wasn't driven to build a career, but fell in to it by playing by the rules and behaving on the sidelines. Joan had an office job, and knew she was operating in a man's world. She knew that the only thing she had which men didn't have and wanted was her sex appeal. So she bent the rules more than Peggy did, using her desired assets to get what she wanted. Each of the women showed the pros and cons of the paths they took, and from that, we can see many of the reason that women started to look for something better, and fight for equality. Then comes along Megan. Being younger than Betty, Joan, and slightly younger than Peggy AND having grown up in Montreal, she was not exposed to quite the level of limitations that the other women had been. She saw the appeal of marriage and family, but saw that she had other options too. Her marriage to Don matters to her, but she's not willing to sacrifice her entire self to maintain a marriage. Her horizon is slightly broader than the other women because of her age, and because of the path that women like Peggy, Joan, and Betty laid for her. Megan matters to me because she's the first glimpse we have gotten on the show of what happened next in the women's movement. It doesn't matter to me how she behaves, how big the actresses teeth are, or anything else that plays into her likability. I just like that the show is going down the next baby step of the women's movement, and I don't think that could have been accomplished through any character other than a second wife for Don.

Re: Mad Men

Oh, maybe I wasn't clear. It's not that Don has a new wife that bothers me. It's Megan. I just don't find her character amusing. I suspect it's the actress. Perhaps another one might have done more with the role. Her teeth don't bother me. I like large teeth and have since I was a child. (Big Osmond fan. lol)

Megan may be all progressive, but she still got her man by sleeping with her boss, although, it sure worked out well for her.

Re: Mad Men

AcookerTV, I completely understand what you are saying, especially about the 3 women and their roles in that era. But I think you view it more idealistically than I do. I think Joan used her assets because she had them and knew their power, and she was absolutely right. That wasn't uncommon in those days and one of the few ways women were noticed so Joan did what she needed to do. Betty didn't appear to really have any interest in anything other than being a wife and mother. Unfortunately, she found out she really didn't like being a wife and mother...well, maybe a wife. As for Peggy, I don't think she only "fell into" her advanced job but luckily found out something about herself that she was good at. And she used this capability the same way Joan did...just different assets.

I think Weiner is brilliant, just not the god he thinks he is. I have a really good memory and I've caught a few of his mistakes regarding the timing of that era, including some of the music used. I'm sure they do a lot of research to replicate that era but living it was pretty good also.

Re: Mad Men

Originally Posted by Dragonlady

AcookerTV, I completely understand what you are saying, especially about the 3 women and their roles in that era. But I think you view it more idealistically than I do. I think Joan used her assets because she had them and knew their power, and she was absolutely right. That wasn't uncommon in those days and one of the few ways women were noticed so Joan did what she needed to do. Betty didn't appear to really have any interest in anything other than being a wife and mother. Unfortunately, she found out she really didn't like being a wife and mother...well, maybe a wife. As for Peggy, I don't think she only "fell into" her advanced job but luckily found out something about herself that she was good at. And she used this capability the same way Joan did...just different assets.

I think Weiner is brilliant, just not the god he thinks he is. I have a really good memory and I've caught a few of his mistakes regarding the timing of that era, including some of the music used. I'm sure they do a lot of research to replicate that era but living it was pretty good also.

My only comment on this would be that I don't think it's uncommon in THESE days for women to use their Joan like assets either.

Re: Mad Men

Tonight's finale is about Don's difficulties. I wonder what that means. Does Don get separated from Megan....or does he have a heart attack...........or does he get caught in his affair..........or does he blow a business deal.... or does his wife get attacked..........I haven't read any real spoilers. All the speculation about Megan getting murdered seems to have been Weiner being silly.